SPORTS
5B
THE UNIVERSITY DARY KANSAN
BASEBALL (CONTINUED FROM 1B)
catcher Buck Amenir said the constant play against ranked programs has its pros and cons.
"Who wouldn't want to play a ranked team every weekend on the side of competition?" Afenir said. "But it's tough to come out every day to see a top-10 rounder on the mound every time."
Afenir was referring to the quality of starting pitching the layhawks have had to face all season long. The Bears are no slouches, and plan to roll out junior Kendal Volz for the first game of the series on Friday.
Volz pitched for Team USA over the summer. He was the closer for the squad that also had Price on as an assistant coach. Price has seen enough of the right hander to know his team will have to battle on Friday.
"He was one of my favorite players on the team and he's one of the best pitchers in America, so we'll have our hands full Friday night," Price said. "He's a first rounder and we have to get after him."
But the main advantage to facing all these top teams every weekend is that Price knows his team is prepared to face top talent.
"I think the great thing about it is, when you go that many consecutive weeks you're prepared to play against that kind of competition." Price said.
But being at home could be the advantage needed to combat Baylor's starting pitching. While Kansas hasn't been as productive with its lineup on the road, at home it was able to fight off Texas' starters until the bullpen came in. Again, junior shortstop David Narodowski believes playing at Hogglund Ballpark gives the lavwhayn an edge.
"We play well at home, hopefully we get some fans out to feed off of," Narodowski said. "Just keep hitting the ball like we did this week, we should be fine."
Edited by Liz Schubauer
RECRUITS (CONTINUED FROM 1B)
intentions to attend Kansas that day. Now, it appears he may be waiting for Henry's decision. Stephenson compared his game with Henry's in the Daily News article.
"He's a good player, but I think I'm better in crunch time," Stephenson told the Daily News. "I like to win."
Kansas most likely could not sign both Henry and Stephenson. Aside from the fact that they both play the same position on the wing, Kansas' next commitment would use its 15th scholarship.
The NCAA only allows 13 scholarship players on a team. To accommodate for both Henry and Stephenson, either two players would have to leave or two players' scholarships would have to be taken away.
— Edited by Justin Leverett
MEN'S BASKETBALL
Penn State wins men's NIT Cornley led the way with 18 as Nittany Lions top Baylor Bears
DAVE SKRETTA Associated Press
NEW YORK — Penn State coach Ed DeChellis met with his team a couple of hours before playing Baylor in the NIT/title game and had only one request.
"Give me everything you have," he said. "If it's good enough, it good enough; if it's not, it's not. Just leave it all on the floor."
The Nittany Lions certainly did. And it was plenty.
Jamelle Cornley scored 18 points and the scrappy Nittany Lions, chasing every loose ball and hustling for every rebound, outlasted the Bears 69-63 on Thursday night to win only the second postseason tournament title in school history.
Talor Battle added 12 points, all in the second half, for the Nittany Lions (27-11).
"You don't know what it's going to be like when you go into it," said Cornley, the tournament's most valuable player. "The last time I cut down the nets was the state championship my freshman year of high school. To cut down some more nets in my last game is just an unbelievable feeling."
The only other postseason tournament Penn State had won was the Atlantic 10 in 1991.
Weston White/KANSAN
It was a physical game, and both teams spent most of the night scrambling for every ball in sight. Penn State guard Danny Morrissey was trying to corral a loose one near the scorer's table with about $2\frac{1}{2}$ minutes to go and the Nittany Lions leading 57-48 when he slammed his head into the floor, laying motionless on the sideline for a few moments.
cut above his lip but eventually walked off the floor on his own
Members of the women's team celebrate Wednesday's semifinal victory. Attendance for that game was the fifth highest in Kansas history.
Trainers hurried over and tended to the senior, who had a
"We have tough kids. We're going to go compete. That's been our trademark all year." DeChellis said. "That play typifies what our team has been like all year."
The Bears trailed 62-50 after Stanley Pringle made a pair of free throws with under 2 minutes left, but they did their best to rally. Tweety Carter's 3-pointer made it 62-55 with just over a minute to go, and he made another with 16.8 seconds left to get within 68-63.
Battle hit one of two foul shots, and Curtis jerrells air-balled a 3-pointattempt to set off a jubilant celebration in one end of Madison Square Garden, where some 36 busloads of white-clad fans made it look like the end zone of Beaver Stadium on a fall Saturday.
Baylor simply ran out of time.
WNIT (CONTINUED FROM 1B)
to have people come when you're winning."
Before Kansas' semifinal game against Illinois State on Wednesday, players sat in the locker room, somewhat shocked after a round of pregame warm-ups.
Allen Fieldhouse, normally peppered with event staff and earlyarriving media members, had fans — and a healthy number of them — before the 60-minute countdown to tipoff even began.
"You can throw out a lot of flyers and tell everyone you want to come, but it won't change their decisions unless you're winning." McCray said. "People have come up to me and said I don't even like women's basketball that much but I'm still coming."
But, really, there's only one key to generating excitement and boosting attendance figures.
"It's the atmosphere that we've all been working towards," associate athletic director Jim Marchiony said. "Coaches, players, the administrators — this is what we've been working for. It's very satisfying to see the team's hard work pay off."
The Jayhawks talked all season about increasing their fan support, and many administration-launched promotions drew fans into Allen Fieldhouse with some success.
Senior guard Ivana Catic added: "When you try to talk with people and say, 'Hey, come to our games.' Then, they say 'What's your record?' and you're like, 'Well, we haven't been doing so well, but we're doing better,' you don't really get a good response."
Kansas' recent success down the stretch of the season, coupled with a lack of other basketball viewing options at this point in the year, has made the women's basketball team a topic of conversation.
That wasn't the case in years past or, for that matter, even earlier this season.
"Sometimes" McCray said, "people didn't even know who you are."
Now, Kansas' players walk into classes and are greeted with warm congratulations and promises to
attend the upcoming game.
Sure, the program still has a long way to go, a lot of climbing yet to do. But the signs of progress are undeniable. Marchiony said the athletics department has launched a massive campaign to draw fans to Saturday's game, including using Facebook, Twitter and talking with area organizations.
The result? Marchiony realistically plans for Kansas to set a new attendance record for women's basketball games, surpassing the current mark of 13,352 set in 1994.
"I don't even know what that looks like in our games," Catic said. "I know how it looks in guy's games, but I don't know what that looks like being out on the court."
— Edited by Justin Leverett
From the director of SUPERBAD
.